Irving man dies after sand tunnel collapses on him during family vacation

Share this:

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL -- The Goggin family vacation was off to a great start. That is, until a freak accident occurred on the beaches of St. Augustine, Florida.

Lee Goggins, of Irving, was digging a sand tunnel when it caved in. He suffered a heart attack and was placed in a medically induced coma.

Lee’s sister, Rachel Burt, wrote about the accident on a GoFundMe page:

“Our family was just starting off on vacation when we stopped in at the beach in St. Augustine, FL to let the kids burn some energy. Lee was building a tunnel when it collapsed on him.”

Goggins died a few days later.

He was a husband and dad of three, and a personal trainer at SWEAT Gym in Dallas.

“He literally helped us carry equipment in, clean floors, hang ceiling fans, I mean we did this from the ground up and Lee had a huge part in that. But his day to day was being a personal trainer here,” said Joe Long a friend and colleague of Lee’s. “It surprised and shocked me that it happened, but it does not surprise and shock me that this is how Lee was entertaining the kids... it doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s Lee trying to have fun.”

That speaks volumes to the type of guy Lee was.

In just four days, Lee’s GoFundMe page has raised over $45,000 – far exceeding the goal of $5,000.

“You take for granted these little conversations you have with your friends not knowing it's gonna be the last.”